Red curry paste is hot. It's good with meat, poultry, and particularly, with seafood. It is also a useful ingredient in non-curry dishes – say, Thai fish cakes – and in curry spinoffs such as clams and/or mussels steamed with red curry paste, a bit of coconut milk and Thai aromatic herbs such as lime leaves, lemongrass, basil, and galangal – delicious! Whatever you are using it for, this paste should be fried briefly in oil (preferably coconut oil) to release its fragrances before adding other ingredients.